Depending on the purposes you want there are a range of tests available, including IELTS & Pearson PTE.

IELTS offer free practice tests, as well as a marked practice test.

Pearson PTE also offer a range of practice tests, including a package of marked practice tests.

Please note:

If you are doing English for a skills assessment authority (not to be confused with the department of Home Affairs), then their requirements and accepted tests may vary.

While IELTS tests are valid for 2 years, most visas for Australia will accept a test done in the past 3 years, however, you need to be careful, there’s always exceptions, so for example, for a student visa you need to have completed the test in the previous 12 months.

Please note, for some visa applications English is time of decision, whereas for others it’s time of application. Time of Application means you need it when you apply for the visa. Time of decision means you need it before they make a decision on your application.

For Home Affairs you will need Pearson Academic, not General.

For Home Affairs you will need either IELTS General or Academic, but general is easier.

While IELTS is the commonly used benchmark, the following table allows you to compare the results from the various providers: